It is 12 weeks until I get married. 12 weeks! Can I possibly drop a dress size and develop a firm and toned body in that time?! Probably not. Oh well. I want to feel motivated by the proximity of the wedding to lose weight, but it’s just not happening! I don’t want to be a head on a stick or anything, but it would be nice to look back in 20 years at photos and gasp in wonder at my lithe, youthful (ish!) frame in my lovely dress (and not think, I wish I had been a bit slimmer). So, to get ‘match fit’ as it were I realise I need to stop baking so much and eating so much – and move much more. It’s not rocket science. And yet…
Yesterday I was sooo tired. Not sleeping well, plus baby has taken to getting up at 5.30am most days. And on those long, tired days all I want is comfort food. Yes, comfort food can come in healthy forms, but more commonly it also comes in the shape of a chocolate, non healthy treat. Hence, my Triple Choc Brownies…
So that’s it, I’ve decided. Next week I am going to start eating less and moving more. No treats (unless healthy) and lots of moving around, even running – maybe even yoga! I’ll have finished these brownies by then (I’ve frozen half so it’s not that bad). I’ll let you know how I get on… eeek!
By the way, this recipe is adapted from one in Mary Berry’s Baking Bible, a much loved tome.
To make 16 squares:
150g dark chocolate, broken up and melted
150g milk chocolate, broken up and melted
100g white chocolate chips
225g butter
225g unrefined caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
75g plain flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 teaspoons of instant coffee (optional)
- Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line a square cake tin, 24cm x 24cm or thereabouts. (By the way, I have developed an excellent way to line a tin: cut one long piece, this will lay horizontally, covering the bottom and the two vertical sides of the tin. Make it the correct width of the tin (24cm) but longer than required on both sides, i.e. with a little overhang. Grease tin and stick the paper on. Then simply cut two pieces to roughly fit on the remaining two sides. This way you can easily lift the cake out once it’s done.)
- Melt your butter and dark/milk chocolates in a bowl, over a pan of simmering water.
- Mix the coffee with a couple of tablespoons of boiling water.
- Combine the coffee, eggs, sugar and beat well. Sift your flour and baking powder in. Fold together, adding the white chocolate chips carefully at the last minute, then pour into prepared tin.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool in tin completely before lifting out and cutting into squares.
